Chino now has two places to grab a Mediterranean bowl. Cava has opened a new restaurant at 8329 Pine Ave., inside the Town Center at The Preserve shopping center, giving the fast-casual chain its second Chino-area location alongside an existing spot at the Shoppes at Chino Hills.
The Mediterranean restaurant chain serves pitas, bowls with grilled meats and vegetables, dips and salads, according to the Chino Valley Champion, which first reported the opening. At the Shoppes at Chino Hills, Cava sits next to Panera Bread, per the same report. The Town Center at The Preserve location officially opened to the public on August 17, with daily hours running from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to Net Realty.
A Shopping Center Built for a Booming Neighborhood
Town Center at The Preserve is a 146,800-square-foot neighborhood shopping center developed by Upland-based Lewis Retail Centers and anchored by a 46,109-square-foot Stater Bros. Market, according to Lewis Retail Centers. The developer broke ground on the site in late 2022 to bring grocery and dining options to the surrounding master-planned housing.
That housing is part of The Preserve at Chino, a roughly 3,000-acre master-planned community expected to include about 8,000 new homes once built out, following the City of Chino's 2003 annexation of 5,400 acres of former farmland, per Shea Homes. More than half of the community's total acreage is set aside for open space, natural conservation, and parks. Cal Aero Preserve Academy is also mentioned in descriptions of the community.
Fast-Casual Cluster Keeps Growing
Lewis Retail Centers has pointed to rapid residential growth across South Chino and neighboring areas like Ontario Ranch and Eastvale as the reason national fast-casual brands keep signing leases at the center. Cava's arrival adds to a dining lineup that already includes Chipotle, Poki Bowl, Wingstop, Kenwood's Kitchen & Tap, and Panera Bread, with Nashville hot chicken brand Angry Chickz joining the mix in June, according to Lewis Retail Centers.
In a Facebook post, the developer framed the addition as more than another restaurant opening, describing Cava's arrival as part of a broader strategy of clustering high-traffic dining concepts to serve young families moving into the Inland Empire's fastest-growing residential corridors.
A Bigger Growth Story Nationwide
The Chino opening lands amid a period of rapid expansion for Cava Group Inc. The company has more than 450 locations, according to Cava Group Inc.
Cava went public on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2023, raising nearly $318 million by selling 14.4 million shares at $22 apiece, a debut that initially valued the company at roughly $2.45 billion. An April 2025 report from analysts at TD Cowen, cited by Restaurant Dive, found Cava is roughly four times larger than its nearest competitor in the fast-casual Mediterranean segment, with projections putting the chain at 1,200 U.S. locations by 2033. The company built part of its suburban footprint by acquiring rival chain Zoës Kitchen for about $300 million in 2018 and converting Zoës locations into Cava restaurants.
The Chino opening is Cava's latest Southern California move after debuts in Valencia's community day launch in March and the announcement of the chain's first Bay Area restaurant, planned for San Jose next year.
